The current trend in the automobile manufacturing sector, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,743,559 to Papi et al. and incorporated by reference herein, is to group components to obtain modular systems that simplify and facilitate mounting instead of mounting individual elements separately. One example of this type of modular system is to assemble hardware components onto a carrier panel that is then mounted to the vehicle on the assembly line. For example, a door carrier can have several accessories or functional components of the door pre-mounted, such as elements of the window lift, the lock, impact absorption systems, loudspeakers, etc. On the assembly line the door carrier is attached to the door to facilitate the final assembly of the vehicle and reduces the assembly times. Therefore, the use of this type of modular carrier simplifies the assembly of the functional components, as these components are pre-mounted on a single carrier that can be mounted on the vehicle in a single assembly stage.
Attachment of the carrier to the vehicle involves assembly line workers handing, inserting and seating every fastener for the carrier. For a typical door carrier this can involve handling 8 to 12 attachment screws for each carrier. Handling and insertion of fasteners increases the line time involved for installing components, particularly carriers. The potential for dropping or mishandling fasteners can cause delays that decrease the productivity of the entire assembly line.